Finn Wolfhard Is No Stranger to Fame
As 'Stranger Things' returns, revisit Finn Wolfhard’s 2020 interview on his approach to acting, social media and navigating sudden global fame.
Interview by Valérie Costantino
Fashion by Rae Boxer
As Stranger Things enters its final chapter, we’re revisiting Finn Wolfhard’s Mastermind cover story, from early 2020. Back then, Wolfhard was still discovering what fame meant, figuring out how to use his platform and balancing acting with music and early directing dreams.
What’s the best piece of advice your co-stars Winona Ryder or David Harbour has given you – for acting or for life?
FW Honestly, they convey so much of value to me without speaking at all that it would be weird if they suddenly started giving me direct advice. The thing is, they both lead by example, and they don’t judge whether you follow or not, so my relationship is actually pretty zen with both of them. And that applies in acting as much as in life.
Have you ever rewatched your original audition tape? How do you think about your life before the show compared to now?
FW I did watch it while doing some press for Season 2. I love to think that it led very quickly to the thing I wanted to do more than anything – though, at the time, I thought I would never want to audition again. This came just after a bad experience: I was, like, two days from leaving for It when Cary Fukunaga left the project. I couldn’t believe it. I don’t blame Cary at all; it was just the selfish child’s idea that you could be committed and all ready to go and then zip…
But since then, I am happy to say that I have matured a bit, and I’ve learned that this kind of disappointment happens all the time to everyone, obviously not just in film. So while my life has changed a lot since that audition, in many ways it has not changed at all, and that tape is really part of the things that have stayed the same for me: you only do things because you love them or because you love the people who want to work with you or, in the case of that audition, because you might regret not taking advantage of that opportunity.
You entered the public imagination as part of an ensemble of brilliant young actors. What was it like to ascend so rapidly to worldwide fame alongside your co-stars?
FW Well, it was obviously weird, and no one was prepared for it, parents included. Individually, we had to deal with it the best way we could, but because we were all dealing with it at the same time, and for the same reasons, we could rely on each other, like an emotional shorthand.
“Call it fate, call it luck, call it karma – I believe everything happens for a reason,” says Bill Murray in the original Ghostbusters. Do you agree?
FW If you work really hard in any creative field, and you have some ability, you will still need luck or fate or whatever to meet you halfway. And when it does, there is always a moment, for me, at least, when that random element seems somehow guided – that you might have been given that opportunity for a reason. By the same token, if you have that experience and then turn into an asshole? That’s karma, bitch.
I read that you got your very first acting role, in a music video, from a Craigslist ad. What happened?
FW First off, anyone under 18 should not use Craigslist without their parents or guardian vetting everything. There are some weird people out there, and some of them end up wanting to direct short films. These include people who should not work with children. Having said that, I watched a lot of movies when I was young, and I heard about NYU [New York University] film school when I was like, 8. My godparents were in film and, unbelievably, I realized that you could actually go to school to make movies. I was already playing music, and my dad heard about a band called Facts in Vancouver that wanted to shoot a video – so this was like acting and music together. Plus, I would get to hang out on a film set. And so, after that, it’s all I wanted to do. I didn’t have an agent, so we trolled Craigslist and library bulletin boards. I’m still in contact with people I worked with when I was 11, on a PUP video. It’s still all we want to do. It’s also where I met Malcolm from my old and my new band, and we’ve literally been jamming ever since. And it got me to my agent, Ryan, who’s now my manager in L.A. So, Craigslist for music videos and Vancouver Film School for shorts – if you are a kid obsessed with film and music like I was, and still am, these are very good outlets offering sometimes interesting work.
You’re very active on social media, where you have enormous followings on Instagram and Twitter. How do you process the magnitude of your audience?
FW I don’t process it at all, but it’s crazy that something like that can grow the way it does and lead to so many other opportunities. It’s also cool to see some of those people connect – I mean, across countries, and they meet up or come to shows or trade art online.
What’s your approach to sharing your life with your fans via social media? Are there things you’re careful to avoid, and messages you try to convey?
FW I have strong opinions on a lot of issues, but most of those I keep private; same with most of my charity stuff. There’s nothing that I do or think that’s any more or less worthy than any other person’s opinions or actions, and the last thing the world needs is another actor telling people what to do. (Except Leo DiCaprio; he should go off every day). Instead of worrying about what I think or do, I would encourage people who are nice enough to follow me to think more critically about what they read and see and hear in the media, especially in social media. They should call out bull- shit when they see it, because it’s dishonesty that breaks us.
How do you think living in Canada has shaped your career?
FW To the extent that being raised in this country, with its particular culture, underlies my personality, my priorities and my goals – the way it prepares me for interacting with people from other cultures with different values and morals – I can’t imagine growing up anywhere else.
Have any fan experiences left you spooked?
FW Yes! When I was 13, some adults followed me back to my condo when I was shooting It. Stranger Things had just come out, and I was by myself. As I walked faster, they walked faster, and I was getting a bit antsy by the time I got to the door. Suddenly, they were like, ”Hey, dude, can we get a selfie?” And I was like, “No you can’t have a selfie! How about don’t follow children?”
I also had my taxi followed and, out of the taxi, the person continued to be pretty relentless. We took care of it, though. Less spooky, but no less disappointing, is getting booed at events by adults because I wouldn’t sign something or whatever. I appreciate the love, but I’m not going to endanger you or me – I’ve had to stop shows because people were getting crushed, and Ryan Reynolds almost got injured in Brazil when he went to the barricade. It was lucky that the hundred people who fell over it weren’t hurt. Appreciate the love y’all, but distance is good.
I read that you have aspirations to direct. What’s the appeal of stepping behind the camera? What kind of film would you like to make?
FW To create something that moves people, working with all the tools and departments and cast that go into making a great film; that would be awesome. I’m prepping a short film now, and I have discovered the reality: that there are a lot of meetings and chats about stuff I would rather not really deal with, so physically being behind a camera and not dealing with that stuff is also looking like a very nice escape.
Which directors and screenwriters do you most admire?
FW My random list of people I would run to work with on almost anything includes Wes Anderson, Spike Jonze, Olivia Wilde, Richard Linklater, Paul Thomas Anderson, Jason Reitman, Rian Johnson, Floria Sigismondi, the Safdies, Taika Waititi, Bill Hader, Alice Rohrwacher, Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach, Damien Chazelle, Martin McDonagh, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Rogen and Goldberg, Guillermo del Toro, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Lena Dunham, Alfonso Cuarón, Charlie Kaufman, the Duffers, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Andrés Muschietti, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese – I could go on and on.
What’s one film everyone should watch before they die?
FW A Ken Loach film called Kes, which Bill Hader recommended to me. It covers childhood in a way most main- stream and modern films don’t. You should see it.
You’re stranded on a desert island with just one album. What is it?
FW That’s an impossible question, but Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and the Stones’ Exile on Main Street are pretty perfect records.
You can only watch one TV series for the rest of your life – but you can watch it endlessly. Which series and why?
FW South Park. There is an episode about almost everything that’s happened for the last 23 years, so that covers my life and my brother Nick’s. And it’s still as funny and relevant today as it was when Trey and Matt started.
Your house is on fire, and you have time to grab one book from your bookshelf – which one?
FW Tapping the Source by Kem Nunn. Go get it and see.
This article was published in Mastermind 07, February 2020. Purchase all issues here.
Hair by Holli Smith at Art Partner. Makeup by Nickol Walkemeyer. Set design by Sonia Capriceru at Lizbell Agency. Fashion assistance by Arianne Atlan. Production by ProdN.